The Wednesday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #920, serving up a grid that rewards automotive knowledge and wordplay prowess. Today's challenge particularly favors car enthusiasts and those who can spot sneaky biblical references.
What Makes Connections Tick
For newcomers, NYT Connections presents 16 words that must be sorted into four thematic groups of four. The twist? You're limited to four mistakes, and the color-coded difficulty system (yellow being easiest, purple being trickiest) means surface-level connections often mislead.
Since its June 2023 launch, Connections has carved out its niche in the Times' puzzle ecosystem, standing alongside Wordle and the crossword as a daily ritual for millions of players worldwide. The game's genius lies in its red herrings, words that could fit multiple categories but belong in only one.
Today's Grid at a Glance
Here are the 16 words staring back at you in puzzle #920:
KAYAK | PILOT | PLANE | SHELL
EVEN | MADAM | TRUTH | CIVIC
LEVEL | FLUKE | ODYSSEY | DUGOUT
LABEL | RAFT | FLAT | ACCORD
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Paddle power only. Vessels that require elbow grease.
Green Category Clue: No bumps or ridges. Perfectly horizontal surfaces.
Blue Category Hint: Think Japanese engineering. These roll off the assembly line in Tokyo.
Purple Category Teaser: Add a single letter at the start. Biblical figures emerge.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
Blue (Honda Models): ACCORD, CIVIC, ODYSSEY, PILOT
Car enthusiasts likely breezed through this one. These are four of Honda's most recognizable models spanning sedans, compact cars, minivans, and SUVs. ODYSSEY might've thrown non-drivers initially, given its literary association with Homer's epic.
Green (Flush): EVEN, FLAT, LEVEL, PLANE
Straightforward vocabulary once you see the connection. Each word describes something perfectly flush or horizontal. PLANE as an adjective (meaning flat/level) is the most sophisticated usage here, distinct from its airplane meaning.
Yellow (Human-Powered Watercraft): DUGOUT, KAYAK, RAFT, SHELL
Here's where water sports knowledge comes into play. All four are vessels powered by human effort rather than motors. SHELL might be the trickiest, as it's the technical term for racing rowboats used in crew competitions. DUGOUT refers to those canoes carved from tree trunks.
Purple (Biblical Figures Plus Starting Letter): FLUKE, LABEL, MADAM, TRUTH
Today's purple category earns its notorious difficulty through biblical wordplay. Add a starting letter and each becomes a biblical figure: (L)UKE, (A)BEL, (A)DAM, (R)UTH. The kind of pattern that feels impossible until the moment it clicks. Devious, elegant, and quintessentially purple.
The Verdict
Puzzle #920 registers as moderate difficulty with a sting in the tail. Blue falls quickly for anyone who's car-shopped in the past decade, while green requires recognizing synonyms for 'flat.' Yellow separates the paddlers from the power-boaters. Purple, predictably, is the streak-ender, that biblical letter-addition trick won't reveal itself without serious lateral thinking.
The real trap today? PILOT desperately wanting to be grouped with PLANE, or SHELL looking like it belongs with other hard surfaces. Classic Connections misdirection.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone. Until then, reflect on today's performance: Did the Honda models click immediately, or did purple's biblical wordplay claim another victim? The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns
For now, puzzle #920 is solved. See you at midnight for round #921.
